Surgical appliance



Feb. 26, R, GR H M SURGICAL APPLIANCE Filed Oct. 30, 1947 Fig. 2.

INVENTOR. Albert R.Grohum. BY

A TTOR/VE Y Patented Feb. 26, 1952 UNITED QFFICE AlbertzR; emha grmsburgnra; AEIhCKLE; Gra; ham and Carla F Graham executors; of; Albert Application October- 30; 1947; Serial'No; 78 3; '7-5 som (014235-343) Myinventionrelates, generally, tosurgical appliances and; more particularly, to appliancesiolt retaining rubber catheters, drainage tubes, in-. travenous tubes, and thelike, in positionon the humanbody.

Inthe treatment of certain diseases. of; the

bladder and prostate gland, it is frequentlynecese sary to utilize a rubber tube of a special shape, known as a catheter, to drain the bladder. It is also necessary to providea temporary. drainage tube following certain surgical: operations, and rubber'tubingis utilizedin the proces known as intravenous feeding.

The problem of j retaining such tubes in: their proper positionwithout discomfortto thepatients isa difiicult one. Manydeviceshavebeen utilized for this purpose, but none has proven entirely satisfactory.

An object of myinvention, generally stated, is to provide a tube retainer-of the type hereinafter described which shall; be simple and efiicientin operation and which maybe economically manu factured and installed;

A more specific object of my invention to provide a tube retainer which will prevent; the tube: from moving longitudinally as well as transversely.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device suitable for retaining tubes of different typ s in different positions on thehuman body.

A further objectof my-invention; is to provide a surgical appliance which maybe. readily sterie lized by any one oi the-usual methods.

Other objects of my invention will be explained fullyhereinafter or will beapparent to those skilled-inthe art.

In accordance with one embodiment off -my invention, a rubbercatheter, or similartube, is retained in position by a springclamp which is hinged on a metal plate. The clamp has two arms having diverging ends which are engaged by hooks on the metal plate. The tube may bereleased' by disengaging the arms from the hooks and raising the clamp sufiiciently for the arms to clear the hooks. The plate may be held in place by a belt or tape around the body.

For a better understanding of the nature and objects of my invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a view, in elevation, of a catheter retainer embodying the principal features of my invention and applied to the body of a patient;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view, in section, taken along the line II-II of Fig. 1;

Fig- 3; an enlargedview, in. elevation... of; the catheter-retainer;

Fig.- 4 is an. enlarged view, in-sectin, taken along theline IV-.-IV-'o-Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view, in. elevatiomof amodification of the invention, and:

Fig. 611s a. View, partly. in. section and: par ly; in. elevation, showing the devicesillustratediinEiggfi utilized: to .retain an. intravenous tubes in posiilion on a portion of a-patientfsbody.

Referring now tattle-drawing, andparticularlytoFig; 3, thedevice. shown. thereim comprises;- a rectangular plate. (0, preferably composed of stainless steel or aluminumand-havina a circular opening I' I. centrally. disposed therein. and: a, tangular...opening l2: disposed neareach end. 0! the plate. A. spring. clampJls3, preierabl-y com? posed of stainless steel wire, and general-1y. of: a

U-shape, is releasably; hinged. to. the. plate. H1; at

the baseofthe U.

As shown most clearly in Fig. 4, a hinge lzfibior the clamp. l3; may. be iormedsintegrallyzwith the plate. l0. by. cutting and. thenbending a portion of the plate upwardly and over towardsthe top surface of the plate to. provide an. opening. {5 between the bent portion l4 and thetonsurface of the platev l 0; Theoutermostpart oi-theopem ing |:5.is. of a. diameter sl ghtly. less. than the diameter: of-the wireclamp l3, thereby-rcleasablyretaining the. clamp. in; they hinge. The. end I16 of the; hingeportion. IA- may@ be turned upwardly slightly to facilitate the insertion of the clamp. Ic3 into: the; hinge. Thus, the clamp. I13; may be readily.- removedfrom the. plate I10 for. cleaning and sterilizing purposes.

Asshownin Fig; 3., the arms of the. u-shaped clamp, l3 are. disposedoverthe opening. [2b and havefdi-verging. ends. H. The portions. of the arms which lie. over the opening. Il may be so shaped thata roundi rubber tube l8ziscompressed to an elliptical shape when engaged by: the; clamp l3.

Thediverging ends. Ill are releasabl y engaged by hook I59: which. are. disposed on the plate l0. at the side of the opening ll opposite the hinge l4. Each hook l9 may be formed integrally with the plate It) by cutting and then bending a portion of the plate upwardly and over towards the opening left in the plate. The tube I8 may be released from the clamp I3 by compressing the diverging ends I! toward each other to disengage them from the hooks I9, raising the ends slightly to clear the hooks and then releasing the ends of the arms.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the device illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 may be utilized to retain a rubber catheter [8 in position in the hum-an body. The enlarged portion lBa of the catheter i8 may be inserted into the bladder through an opening made by a surgical operation. The tube I8 extends through the opening I l in the plate l and is engaged externally of the body by the clamp l3. As explained hereinbefore, the walls of the tube are compressed slightly by the clamp l3, but not enough to interfere with its drainage function. A gauze pad 2| may be placed underneath the plate l0.

' As shown in Fig. 1, an adjustable belt 22 may be attached to the plate I0 by hooks 23 which are inserted into the openings [2 in the plate l0. The belt 22 encircles the waist of the person wearing the device and, if desired, may be held in position by straps or tie members 24 which pass between the legs. In this manner the plate [0 is securely held in its correct position on the body without the use of adhesive tape and sumcient traction may be applied to the catheter 18 to retain its enlarged portion l8a, firmly against the interior wall of the bladder.

In the modification of the invention shown in Figs. and 6, in which like parts are designated by the same reference characters as in Figs. 1 to 4, the plate l0 and the clamp 13 are of a somewhat smaller size. As shown most clearly in Fig. 6, a rubber tube 25 having a hollow needle point 26, which may be inserted into an arm or other portion 30 of a patients body, is retained in position by the plate l0 and clamp I3. A relatively thick gauze-pad 21 may be placed underneath the plate l0 which is held in position by straps or cords .28. The cords 28 are inserted through openings 29 in the plate It! and pass around the arm 30 of the patient. In this manner the tube 25 may be utilized for intravenous feeding of the patient.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that I have provided a surgical appliance which will satisfactorily retain a rubber catheter, drainage tube, intravenous tube or the like in its correct position on the human body without utilizing adhesive tape. The present device is simple in construction and it may be easily sterilized by any one of the usual methods of sterilization.

Furthermore, itmay be readily manufactured flexible tube, a wire clamp generally of a U-shape hinged to said plate at the base of the U and having its arms disposed over said opening to engage the tube, and hook means on said plate for releasably engaging the arms of said clamp, said clamp being swingable in a plane perpendicular to the plate when said arms are released from said hook means.

2. A surgical appliance comprising, a metal plate having an opening therein for receiving a flexible tube, a wire clamp generally of a U-shape hinged to said plate at the base of the U and having its arms disposed over said opening to engage the tube, and hook means disposed on said plate to releasably engage the arms of said clamp at the side of said opening opposite the hinge for the clamp, said clamp being swingable in a plane perpendicular to the plate when said arms are released from said hook means.

3. A surgical appliance comprising, a metal plate having arr-opening therein for receiving a flexible tube, a steel Wire clamp generally of a U-shape frictionally releasably hinged to said plate at the base of the U and having its arms disposed over said opening to engage the tube, and hook means on said plate for releasably engaging the arms of said clamp.

4. A surgical appliance comprising, a metal plate having an opening therein for receiving a flexible tube, a steel wire clamp generally Of' fl U-shape frictionally releasably hinged to said plate at the base of the U and having its arms disposed over said opening to engage the tube, said arms having diverging ends, and hook means on said plate for releasably engaging the diverging ends of said arms.

5. A surgical appliance comprising, a metal plate having an opening therein for receiving a flexible tube, a steel wire clamp generally of a U-shape frictionally releasably hinged to said plate at the base of the U and having its arms disposed over said opening to engage the tube. the hinge for said clamp being formed integrally with said plate, and hook means formed integr-ally with said plate for releasably engaging the arms of said clamp.

ALBERT R. GRAHAM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in th Schmidt June 30, 1936 

